Northern Ontario craft brewers fared well over the weekend at the Ontario Brewing Awards, held virtually Nov. 14.
Sudbury's Stack Brewing placed four medals in their expanding trophy case, following a gold medal at the Canadian Brewing Awards a few months ago.
Provincially, Stack won two gold medals — one in the Strong Belgian Ale category (LaCloche) and one in the Amber Bitter European Beer category (Impact) — and two silver medals — one in the Standard American Beer category (Nickel City) and one in the India Pale Ale category (Expansion Sour IPA).
Whiskeyjack Beer Company of Haileybury took two gold medals for its Reason to Live brew in the Pale American Ale category and for its Ta-Beer Wit as a Belgian Ale. They won a silver medal for their Abitibi Amber in the Amber and Brown American Beer category.
Full Beard Brewing of Timmins won three medals, including two silvers for their Twisted WhisKers Sour Series Strawberry Rhubarb Pie as an American Wild Ale, and The Bearded Prospector in the Historical Beer category. Their Lion's Mane beer won bronze in the Amber and Brown American Beer category.
In the Brown British Beer category, Sudbury's Magnotta Brewery wore silver for its 3 Threads Porter.
North Bay's Gateway City Brewery took silver in the Alternative Fermentables category for its 137 Rye Pale.
“It caps off a huge year for us," Troy Lajambe's Stack provincial sales manager, told Sudbury.com. "To win nothing less than a silver medal with five different beers is a pretty huge feat."
Home deliveries have been a real boost for Stack during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lajambe said.
“People are still trying to buy local while staying home."
The team at Stack is now waiting on word from the U.S. Open Beer Championship to see if they have won an award on an international level.
“It’s the next step up in terms of competition, and it’s brewers all over North America and the U.S., so we’re just waiting to see if we get a call,” Lajambe said.
– with files from Arron Pickard, Sudbury.com
